Title: Promise and maternal satisfaction that have experienced epidural for pain relief during childbirth
Purpose: To establish whether the parturients who received epidural analgesia (EA) for labour pain relief were satisfied with the achieved effect and whether their expectations of the epidural were met.
Study design: Cross-sectional study.
Research subjects and methods: The research included women who gave birth while using EA, at the Gynaecological and Maternity Clinic, Clinical Hospital Osijek, in the period from 1 July 2013 to 31 July 2015. Data were collected using questionnaires sent out to the private homes of potential participants. They participated voluntarily and anonymously.
Results: Of the 127 questionnaires sent out, 69 were completed. The average age of the participants was 32 years, 54% of participants had college or university degree, 36% were primiparae, and 16% had already used EA before. One third of the participants were informed about epidural analgesia both by other women who had previously used it and by their gynaecologists. 78% of the participants expressed great satisfaction with the effect of EA. The participants who were informed about the EA by anaesthesiologist rated the method with the highest mark. Age, education level, number of deliveries and earlier experiences with EA did not affect the patients’ satisfaction level. All participants rated highly the approach and the expertise of the anaesthesia team.
Conclusion: Most women who request an EA for pain relief during labour have college or university education. Nearly equal number of primiparas and multiparas requested EA. Information on this pain-relieving method was most frequently obtained from women who had used epidural analgesia before and from gynaecologists. Parturients who had been informed by an anaesthesiologist, and had rational expectations regarding pain relief methods during labour, express the highest level of satisfaction with the received analgesia. The approach of the medical staff, especially the anaesthesia team members, influences positively the successfulness of the procedure.